Goodbyes & Hellos

The both-and of new beginnings.

Goodbye mountains, hello North Sea.

Goodbye back porch, hello conservatory.

.

Every goodbye has come with grief.

Every hello has welcomed my feet.

.

A tiny part of me that lives inside wishes she could have taken everything with her

To not have to say goodbye at all would have been so much simpler.

.

But today I’m learning something I never fully learned all those years ago

You can say goodbye to many things while you also say hello.

.

Life is not either-or, nor is joy or grief

Life is full of all the things, the both-and as they meet.

.

I used to think the best of these was sweet + sweet can’t be beat

But now I know more than I could have ever been told, that this formula is not complete.

.

To taste the richness of deep joy, to savor what I most seek

I can’t ignore grief’s salty tears, for they bring out what’s truly sweet.